Imagine making the commitment to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in a property that you only had a few minutes to observe from the front yard. You write the check, go inside and see what you’re dealing with…
Recently I’ve been watching a show on Discovery Channel where investors purchase foreclosed properties without actually knowing what issues the property has. There is no formal...

All of these back-to-school commercials are making me feel a little sick.
I’m not really sure why—I always loved going to school. I sat in the seat directly behind the bus driver, after all.
And yet my stomach still churns whenever I see a sale on spiral notebooks and jeans. Perhaps it’s the thought of summer ending—no more warm nights with the car windows rolled down, extra daylight or trips to...

Hurricanes. Flooding. Geo-political strife. Climate change. Massive unemployment. Despite the growing prevalence of disastrous events, risk mitigation of these so-called "black swans" is just beginning to ping the strategic radar of multifamily asset and portfolio managers. From insurance to property values to financing and development, how your portfolio accounts for the risk of the unknown can...

Apartment Industry Colleagues,This month, I’m going to step outside of the Capitol beltway for a few paragraphs. As you know, tracking, analyzing and reporting on state and local policy trends are some of the central functions within NAA Government Affairs. Though this column predominantly focuses on federal updates, periodically it’s important to change the focus to something a little closer to...